Chamber and committees

Of the 105 entries on the Pilot Programme, sixteen Pilot Building Assessment reports have been returned to the Scottish Government for those that are Government led. Remediation of the External Wall System has been completed on one building. No buildings have been removed from the pilot and work is continuing to ensure that all 105 entries in the pilot are on a pathway to an SBA by June 2024.

The Department for Transport publish a bus fares index for each region within the UK, which tracks changes in ticket prices. This is used in the Scottish Transport Statistics publication, and the Scottish Government currently has no plans for further monitoring of bus fares.

Scotland’s long term strategy for ending homelessness is delivered in partnership with local government, third sector organisations and the wider homelessness sector in Scotland. It requires commitment and investment by all partners on the actions each takes with the aim of ending homelessness.

Our £ 100 million Ending Homelessness Together Fund was established to transform the homelessness system between 2018 and the end of this parliamentary term. On top of funding provided through the local government settlement, we are investing £35 million in 2024-25 in specific action to end homelessness and reduce the number of households living in temporary accommodation. As local authorities are our key partner for delivering our homelessness strategy, the majority of this funding will be allocated to councils.

In addition to this, the Ending Homelessness Together Fund resources a range of other activity, including the opening of Rapid Rehousing Welcome Centres each winter, which provides people at risk of rough sleeping with a warm, safe space and access to trauma-informed services to help them move onto more settled accommodation. It also provides third sector organisations with resource for administration by frontline and street outreach workers to support the immediate needs of people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness and/or rough sleeping.

On Thursday 9 November, during Portfolio Question Time at a Meeting of Parliament, relating to a question on Social Housing Waiting Lists (Support for Local Authorities) I responded to a point made by Mrs Downey MSP, as follows:

“I will make a number of points on that. When I go round speaking to local authorities and housing associations, I find that the biggest barrier to building more houses just now is inflation. Construction inflation has been around 15 to 20 per cent, which has meant that the £3.5 billion budget that we had set aside has effectively been cut in value by £700 million.”

I referenced this effective cut in value of £700 million based on construction inflation figures being between 15 to 20 per cent; 20 per cent of £3.5 billion equating to £700 million.

I informed the Net Zero Energy and Transport Committee on 19 December 2023 that I have received the Islands Connectivity Plan Strategic Approach Paper and the Vessels and Ports Plan. I am now taking some time to ensure that they reflect the issues raised in the Committee's recent inquiry into "A Modern and Sustainable Ferry Service for Scotland" and issues that communities have raised with me directly. I intend to publish both documents early this year.

The full text of my letter to the Committee is available here: Minister for Transport (parliament.scot)

Bus travel in Scotland and the UK was profoundly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with emergency funding to support the industry continuing in 2021-22. Although lockdown measures had eased, restrictions on travel and daily activity remained in Scotland for large parts of 2021-22. This is evident from the Scottish Transport Statistics 2022 which show the lower number of passenger journeys taken over the period.

An evaluation of the Scottish Government shared equity schemes (Help to Buy, Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) and New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE)) was published in June 2020. The evaluation can be found on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/evaluation-scottish-government-shared-equity-schemes/

The LIFT scheme continues to contribute to the Scottish Government’s 110,000 affordable homes target.

Any decisions on future funding should be determined by The Scottish Government’s budget announcement on the 19 December.

The Scottish Government did not request that any Covid-19-related funding be returned by Health Boards to Scottish Government in the financial year 2022-23. All funding available across the Health and Social Care Sector was used to support the Covid-19 efforts and move Covid-19 funding to business as usual to support the recovery from the pandemic.

No decision on the procurement route for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme has been taken as work on the Outline Business Case is ongoing. Ministers will update the Scottish Parliament once this work is complete and a decision has been taken.

The Department for Transport publishes data and statistics about the local bus sector in Great Britain, which includes passenger journey numbers. This is used in the Scottish Transport Statistics publication, and the Scottish Government currently has no plans for further monitoring of passenger numbers.

The Scottish Government does not assess the commercial viability of individual bus service routes, Local authorities have a duty to identify where there is a social need for particular bus services and can seek additional information from bus operators to support that identification in cases where services have been varied or withdrawn.